On November 18–19, 1999, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago held the final in a series of three conferences dedicated to education reform. Co-rsponsored with the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago and the Consortium on Chicago School Research, the conference focused on reform in large urban school districts. In his opening remarks, William C. (Curt) Hunter, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said that the quality of urban school systems matters greatly because so many of the nation’s future citizens and workers attend these schools. Efforts to improve public school quality are key in reviving city economies by attracting families back to the center.